This invention relates to semiconductor technology, and more specifically, to a method to reduce refractory metal roughness.
In the fabrication of semiconductor wafers, the photolithography steps are critical when patterning the minimum feature width, dictated by given photolithography equipment, onto a wafer. Several factor come into play that will affect the dimension and profile of a structure that has resulted from the photolithography steps performed.
One factor is the quality of the masking material (photoresist) itself. Another factor is the effectiveness of the light source (usually ultraviolet light) to expose the photoresist in direct correlation to an overlying mask or reticle. Though, the photoresist quality must continually be monitored and improvements made, the exposure of the photoresist to a light source to provide the desired patterned, is an area where major engineering efforts are ongoing.
The effectiveness of proper light exposure of the photoresist, not only depends on the photoresist material itself, but also on other factors such as the type of underlying film that is being patterned. Maintaining a desired profile becomes even more difficult when patterning a material having a rough surface, such as a refractory metal that is made rough by the shape of its grains.
When patterning a refractory metal, the unevenness of the grains results in the film possessing non-uniform adsorption and reflective properties to light. During a photo step, these non-uniform properties to light result in the light reflecting back into the photoresist at varying angles to cause reflective notching of the photoresist. Though reflective notching can be caused by any underlying film that is being patterned, it is a major problem when patterning the rough surfaced refractory metal.
Another challenge that is presented by the uneven grain of a refractory metal presents, comes to play during the etching step. Usually it is desired to obtain the most vertical profile as possible. However, the uneven grains of the refractory metal silicide, cause the vertical profile to become jagged and less vertical, both undesirable results.
What is needed is a method that addresses the patterning and etching of a refractory metal to obtain structures having a substantially vertical profile. The present invention teaches such a method that may be used in semiconductor processes, such as fabrication processes for Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM) and the like.
In general, the present invention includes a method for forming a refractory metal structure or a refractory metal silicided structure having substantially uniform reflective light properties. In one preferred implementation, the method includes; subjecting a refractory metal silicided layer to a thermal processing step; and of forming a layer, having relatively uniform reflective characteristics to ultraviolet light, directly on the refractory metal silicided layer during the thermal processing step. Preferably, the thermal processing step will be selected to adjust the grain size of the refractory metal to the desired size. The layer formed over the refractory metal can either be formed during the thermal processing step, or can be formed subsequently. In many applications, after the thermal processing step and the formation of the cap layer, the two layers, and possibly other underlying layers, may be patterned to form selected features.